Oklahoma City Thunder wingman Lu Dort is one of those players who nobody expects to be available, but you never know until you try. So why would the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have Anthony Edwards and Malik Beasley on the roster be willing to try? Right now. the Thunder have a team option to pick up Luguentz Dort for a fourth season for a ridiculously low $1.93 million.
So why would the Thunder consider trading Dort? Well, the team may even decline their option and let Dort test free agency waters. But even if that is the case, do not let appearances deceive you. The Thunder will still have the right to match offers, so unless the Timberwolves come in and blow away the Thunder, there is not a lot of likelihood that the Wolves grab Dort with a direct offer.
Well, the Timberwolves could make it work their while, packaging some draft picks to acquire the rapidly developing wingman in a sign-and-trade scenario with the OKC Thunder. But is he a solid defender?
Curious how Lu Dort, Josh Hart & KCP stack up as defenders?
— Jake Coyne (Stat Squatch) (@BroncoSquatch) May 12, 2022
This dashboard shows how they defended some of the west’s top guards / wings over the last few seasons compared to Denver.
Green = They defended better than Denver
Red = Denver defended better than that player pic.twitter.com/ert5OLLiwK
So the guy has defensive chops.
Oh, Canada!
But does it make sense for the Timberwolves to pursue a backcourt guy if the obvious needs are in the front court? For starters, he is from Montreal, Canada, so setting up shop in Minnesota would be closer to home. That makes sense for Dort, but how does this all make sense for the Minnesota Timberwolves?
The first step to improving the Timberwolves is to simply add talent. After that, the team can reset the roster in a way to put the best five on the basketball court. Dort does not bring a marksman role from the arc, but he is rapidly improving, and he is locking in a more robust arsenal of shots each year.
Adding a player like Dort could seal any question of the team moving on from D’Angelo Russell. Patrick Beverly could move into the starting role at point guard. Likely? Perhaps not. Possible? Yes. Just how aggressive will Connelly be this offseason?